Armenia keeps getting weaker and weaker : Azerbaijani diplomat

The current Armenian leadership might hope to be gaining time by creating obstacles for the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles Nasimi Aghayev has said while delivering lectures at the University of California, San Diego, and University of San Diego.

"Building on such assumption, they are largely mistaken, because the experience of the last 20 years shows that the policy of preserving the status quo does not yield any results and the international community remains firmly committed to Azerbaijan's territorial integrity," Aghayev said.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s.

The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.

Aghayev informed the students and professors participating at the lectures about the military occupation of a large swath of Azerbaijan by Armenia and the grave consequences of this occupation.

He said that Azerbaijan is getting stronger and stronger, whereas Armenia keeps getting weaker and weaker.

"Given this circumstance alone, Armenia's leadership should end its non-constructive policy that primarily damages the interests of the Armenian people, and put all its efforts towards the soonest resolution of the conflict," Aghayev said.

The Consul General also spoke about the rich history and culture of Azerbaijan, its steady development since independence, its transformation into one of the key actors in the wider region, the current state of its relations with neighboring countries, and the strategic partnership with the United States, as well as highlighted Azerbaijan's strong traditions of ethnic and religious tolerance and inclusion.